Southafricanbirds

A White-Fronted Bee-Eater. I’ll hopefully post a compilation for fellow bird-nerds before too long. I’ve seen some cool stuff and some that’s really new to me or photographed ok by me for the first time.

Took another crack at the sunbirds. There were so many. I took more decent pictures of them today than in my entire life up until. Trying to think how to post a few more without it being boring.

I had a lovely experience with this little character. It’s a Cape Spurfowl - a common little ground bird that starts life as a fluffy golf ball on spindly legs. I was struggling to focus as it got nearer and nearer until it was right next to where I was lying on the grass - inspecting me at close range for signs of edibles. They’re lovely up close with their intricate patterns. ...

À propos first thing in the morning? The Cape Town Valkyrie, the Hadeda Ibis. I recently read that they have a sensitive organ in their long beaks that can detect the tiny vibrations of prey wriggling beneath the ground.

We have a number of large herons in South Africa. As a rule they’re pretty shy. But for some reason yesterday morning we kept coming across Black Headed Herons that were close to the road or even had to be persuaded to move.

The Saddle-Billed Stork. I was delighted to find that the Indian Black-Necked Stork is a close cousin who’s eschewed the clown makeup for a gothic, vampire look. The perfect contrast.

I’d guess a lot of South Africans would be surprised to know we have indigenous parrots. This busy, curious little bird is the Brown-Headed Parrot. In some cities you can see Rose-Ringed Parakeets. But they’re the descendants of escaped pets. And they thrive in urban environments as they have for thousands of years in their native India. But this is a true Southern African parrot.

A Burchell’s Coucal. The “rain bird.” Here drenched in rain. @withoutaleaf and I were laughing so hard at the Robert’s Birds description of its habits. This species is an absolute hot mess. Pure chaos.

A first for me: the eerie Bathawk (if I’m not mistaken). I WAS MISTAKEN. It’s apparently a brown morph Honey Buzzard. Well there you go… Who knows what circumstances in its youth led to an ordinary hawk leading a double life fighting crime in this frightening guise? We’re home after the usual exhausting trip across the country - notwithstanding a wonderful time in Jozi with @sophdex, @ezlemoen, some lovely parents, and many cats and dogs. It took all of one minute in Observatory during which we were both inside for some rando to try steal the lens which this picture was taken with out of the car. He was most offended that I was suggesting that his reaching into the car, opening a bag, and trying to secret the lens under his arm implied that he might have been attempting to steal it. The nerve of me to suggest such a thing! I think he actually believed himself too. ...

Bird dump: Little Bee-Eater, African Darter, Greenback Heron, White Helmetshrike, Blue Waxbill.